Uganda Carnivore Program

The Uganda Carnivore Program is dedicated to the monitoring, research and conservation of predators in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

www.uganda-carnivores.org

www.facebook.com/uganda.carnivores

Lions, leopards, and hyenas are among the most popular charismatic mega fauna in the world. Unfortunately, their populations have declined significantly, due mainly to the growing needs of an expanding human population. This is particularly true in and around Queen Elizabeth National Park, where the Uganda Carnivore Program is based and where there are 11 enclave villages with a total population of 50,000 people within park borders.

Research Activities:

• Monitoring, research and rescue activities for predator species in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park are important aspects of the Uganda Carnivore Program:

• Tracking carnivores via radio-telemetry in order to monitor their movements into conflict “hot zones,” where they face the danger of meeting up with people and their livestock

• Establishing carnivore biodynamics and developing population viability analyses

• Formulating recommendations for appropriate management of carnivores in the national park

• Assisting the Uganda Wildlife Authority in conflict mitigation, as well as wildlife rescue and relocation operations

Community Education & Outreach Activities:

Habitat and prey loss due to human settlement and agricultural development, as well as retaliatory killing by humans following livestock depredation, are the main threats to Africa’s large predator species.

There can be no success in the conservation of wildlife without the support of local people.

A critical aspect of the Uganda Carnivore Program’s work involves community-based activities that increase local participation in wildlife conservation, such as community-led resource monitoring. We take a collaborative, holistic approach to improving human-wildlife coexistence:

• Educating communities about carnivores, including their significance to the ecosystem, conflict prevention measures, safe practices for livestock management, and income generation potential

• Collaborating with local teachers to develop conservation education in village schools

• Creating socio-economic development opportunities, such as the Community Resource Center known as Leopard Village, which supports cultural and wildlife conservation through ecotourism

• Facilitating health screenings for villagers and their domestic animals and monitoring zoonotic disease transmission.

Thank you for your interest!